H is for Hawk

Author: Helen Macdonald

The anthology is about how Macdonald adopts a hawk to distract her from her

father’s sudden death. It is written in the first-person narrative, like a monologue,

describing the author’s experience firsthand to divert her from her grief as hawks

need a lot of attention and care to train. The hawk reflects her experience of

mourning.

Summary:

● The themes of grief and fascina are illustrated in this anthology.

● The anthology has a fairly informal tone.

● The author uses language and structure to convey her feelings about

adopting the hawk she desires. However, her grief must have

disoriented her as she stares into the hawk’s eyes trying to find

something.

● The first two paragraphs build the scene and who she’s buying the

hawk from.
 ● In the third paragraph, the author uses a variety of linguistic techniques

to describe the hawks. The continuous use of linguistic devices such as

metaphors, similes and personification, enables the user to understand

her and how meticulously she chooses her hawk.

● Nonetheless, towards the end, she becomes indecisive and selects the

wrong bird. She becomes almost irrational and anxious. ● Her tone

towards the end also changes as she becomes aware of how

unprofessional she’s being. The tone also indicates that she is aware of

the fact that her request was likely to be denied.

● The anthology ends on a cliffhanger, leaving the reader on edge and

begging for more.

➢ “Don’t want you going home with the wrong bird.”- foreshadows the plot twist.

Structure:

● It is written in chronological order.

● “Another hinge untied. Concentration. Infinite caution.”- the use of short

sentences here highlights a feeling of suspense. The sentences are used to

emphasise surprise and awe.

● The sentences feel detached in the second paragraph. This may be to build

tension. However, it could be to indicate her detached thought process due to

the fact that she’s grieving.

● “And” in the second paragraph- syndetic listing in the second paragraph

helps highlight how overwhelmed the author feels. ● “Enormous, enormous”-

repetition and italics adds emphasis.

● “Two enormous eyes. My heart jumps sideways, she’s a conjuring trick. A

reptile. A fallen angel.A griffon from the pages of an illuminated bestiary.” -

the short sentences highlight tension. The description is quite hyperbolic.

● “But now this; and she can see everything: the point-source glitter on the

waves, a diving cormorant a hundred yards out; pigment flakes under the

wax on the lines of parked cars…”- the colon and listing used to emphasise

how diligently she puts herself in the hawk’s position. The extensive listing

here is juxtaposing the short sentences used which underlines the

overwhelming experience.

● “One, two, three,”- the countdown creates tension.

● “It was the wrong bird. This was the younger one. The smaller one. This was

not my hawk.”- the disjointed pattern of sentences denotes confusion.

● “Oh”- the interjection/the single sentence word emphasises her surprise

● “This isn’t my hawk”- the quote is italicised and denotes the internal thoughts

of the reader.

● “Smokier and darker and much, much bigger and instead of twittering, she

wailed; great, awful gouts of sound like a thing in pain, and the sound was

unbearable”- syndetic listing here emphasises how overwhelmed Macdonald

is feeling. The repeated use of conjunction here also reflects on the growing

realisation that this wasn’t her hawk. The comparison between the two birds

makes the smaller one seem unappealing.

● “This is my hawk,”- the italicised words used to iterate the author’s feelings.

The author’s inner monologue is used in an attempt to convince herself.

 ● “This isn’t my hawk”- the quote is used to compare the birds and how she

cannot feel compassion for the second hawk ● “But this isn’t my hawk”-the

author is unable to accept this hawk.

● “Saw something blank and crazy stare. Some madness from a distant

country. I didn’t recognise her.”- detachment from the reader. A difference in

tone can be noticed here.

● “Do you think there’s any chance I could take that one instead…”- the

ellipses highlight her hesitation and the awkwardness between them.

● White-faced woman”- compound words describing her sense of derangement

and desperation. She is an emotional wreck and is very frail.

● “There was a moment of total silence”- mysterious cliffhanger. The use of

suspense here iterates the seriousness of the moment.

Meaning

● The author tries to buy the perfect hawk to distract her from her father’s

death. The anthology is a first-person narrative of her experience of buying a

hawk.

Imagery

● Academic language is used for imagery and visuality in the scene.

 ● “A great flood of sunlight drenches us and everything is brilliance and fury”-

pathetic fallacy gives the bird a god-like image and makes the bird seem

admirable.

● “Like gold falling through water”- beautiful imagery

● “Like a turkey in a butcher’s shop”- the simile here illustrates the vulnerability

of the bird.

● “Her beak was open, her hackles raised; her wild eyes were the colour of sun

on white paper, and they stared because the whole world had fallen into

them.”- juxtaposing language- the bird is described as menacing but

Macdonald understands that it is because she is new to the world. “The

whole world had fallen into them”- metaphorical language.

Language

● The author uses descriptive language when discussing the hawk while dry

legal language is used before.

● “Thump”- the onomatopoeia creates tension. The repetition of the word in

the second paragraph helps create a tense atmosphere.

● “shook”, “as if someone had punched it, hard, from within”- the language

used denotes violence and power and also helps create tension. The simile

helps emphasise the strength of the bird.

● “Frowned”- encourages concern.

● “To keep the hawk from fearful sights. Like us”- ironic as the leather hood

over the hawk’s head is supposed to protect the hawk from us. The quote

highlights MacDonald’s compassionate nature.

● “The last few seconds before battle”- the hyperbole makes the reader on

edge in anticipation.

● “Chaotic clatter”- the alliteration adds emphasis to the moment.

● “Barred and beating”- the alliteration/ plosives here highlight the tension

● “My heart jumps sideways”- the personification here emphasises tension.

● “she’s a conjuring trick”- the metaphor here highlights the hawk’s beauty.

● “Her world was an aviary no larger than a living room”- metaphorical

language emphasising entrapment of the bird. The author uses juxtaposition

here when comparing the world to the aviary.

● “Calm,”, “gathered”, “folding”, “anchoring”, gripping” the verbs (list of active

clauses) show that he’s in control of the situation. ● “Tautly”, “concern”- the

intensity of the moment.

● “This man had fed her…”- informative language.

● “I loved this man and fiercely”- melodrama (hyperbolic language) iterates

how reliant MacDonald is on him.

● “Fizzing” and “fusing”- the alliteration here highlights the tension.

● “And dear God, it did”- the expression here denotes fear and shock. It fills the

reader with terror.

● “Like a Victorian melodrama”- simile

● “Saw something blank and crazy stare. Some madness from a distant

country. I didn’t recognise her.”- the quote highlights the dangerous nature of

the bird.

● “Slow panic”- the oxymoron here emphasises her growing realisation and

how she feels about the second hawk.

● “Monstrous breach of etiquette”- “monstrous” and “etiquette”-the paradox

here refers to how she is aware of the fact that she is being unprofessional.

● “I started again, saying stupider things”- the grammatical error here

underlines her anxiety. She rambles ondetachment from the reader.

 ● “Desperate, crazy barrage of incoherent appeals”- the language used here

emphasises her pleading tone. She uses emotive language which evokes

pathos.

● “Wind-wrecked hair”- alliteration.

● “Madea”- (ancient greek mythology) emphasising her pleading nature. Her

desperation evokes sympathy.

● “Sensed”, “stuttered”, “simple” - sibilance reinforces the content. It

emphasises that her request is likely to be denied.

● “That there was something behind it that was very important”- the quote

reminds the reader that to her, the bird means more. It is her only hope of

getting over her father’s death.

Effect on the reader

● The anthology is written in the first-person narrative and evokes sympathy

from the reader. Pathos can be highlighted throughout the anthology.

● Academic language is used for imagery and visuality in the scene which

engages the reader.

● The anthology is easy to comprehend. This may be because the author

wants to speak to the need to develop one’s own mechanisms for coping with

life’s difficulties.